University of Edinburgh conservatives endorse McCain

In a move unlikely to impact upon this year's election, the Edinburgh University Conservative and Unionist Association (EUCUA), has thrown itself into the US presidential race in an effort to provide "a banner under which to come together" to "those who feel a distinct anti-Obama sentiment."

Issuing a statement last week, the group’s chairman, former EUSA presidential candidate Harry Cole, and vice chairman, Ed Kozak, announced their “full endorsement” of Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.

In a letter to Senator McCain, Mr Cole and Mr Kozak declared their support, citing their shared values and highlighting “the infringements and wrongdoings of a strong, leftist state” suffered by citizens of the UK.

Mr Cole said: "During this campaign the rather lovely Sarah Palin has not said or done anything that could be remotely perceived as ‘fundamentalist’.

“When questioning those who attack Palin and asking them to cite when she had expressed these ‘fundamentalist’ views in this campaign, or when she had allowed her personal views to affect her judgment as governor of Alaska, not one person could give me an example.”

The statement continues: “It is clear to see that the students of Edinburgh University have all formed this prejudiced view of Governor Palin thanks to successful smears of her reputation by the bias of the BBC and liberal media.

“When people look into the integrity of Barack Obama they are accused of smear politics or worse. However unlike the attacks on Palin, these are not smears, they are fact."

Adding his voice to the endorsement, Mr Kozak said: “'It really disturbs me how blindly people support Obama in this race... What disturbs me even more is how people are blaming the Republicans for the current financial crisis."

The EUCUA statement is accompanied by artwork which features a declaration of endorsement for the Republican presidential ticket superimposed on an image of governor Palin’s legs.

Earlier this year, Mr Cole attracted accusations of sexism against EUCUA by displaying a poster at the Freshers’ Fair which read, “Life is better under a conservative,” with an image of an attractive woman.

Mr Cole notes, however, that the views of EUCUA do not reflect those of the Conservative Party.

It is not yet known how the McCain presidential campaign has reacted to EUCUA’s show of support.